Waste Advisory Board appointed

A new advisory board has been
appointed to provide advice to the Environment Minister on
issues relating to waste minimisation, Environment Minister
Trevor Mallard said today.

The Waste Advisory Board has
members from business and communities with extensive
experience in the waste area. The board is charged under the
Waste Minimisation Act with providing independent advice to
the minister and Ministry for the Environment on waste
minimisation issues.

All members were appointed after a public
call for nominations and were selected for their knowledge,
skills and experience relating to the Waste Minimisation
Act, community projects for waste minimisation, industry
(including the commercial waste industry), local government
and tikanga Māori.

"Now that the Act is in force, I
want to start implementing key provisions such as consulting
on which products should be priority products, product
stewardship schemes, criteria for the funding of waste
minimisation projects and the information requirements to
implement and monitor the effectiveness of the Act. The
board's initial work will be in providing advice on these
areas, so proposals can go out for public consultation early
next year," Trevor Mallard said.

The Waste Minimisation
Act offers economic incentives and rewards to businesses and
councils who act to reduce the waste caused by their
products. Under the Act's product stewardship clauses,
producers, brand owners, importers, retailers, consumers and
other parties take responsibility for the environmental
effects of their products – from ‘cradle-to-grave’.
Product stewardship is mandatory for products that are
declared to be "priority" products. (see also other
background information on the Act below).

--

Short biographies of members of the Waste Advisory
Board

Rob Fenwick (Chair)Rob Fenwick is the
founding director of Living Earth Ltd, New Zealand’s
largest organic waste management and composting business. He
is also on the Executive Council of the New Zealand Business
Council for Sustainable Development and is a previous Chair
of LandCare Research. He has extensive experience in waste
recovery and is a waste management entrepreneur.

Lynne
KennyLynne Kenny is the contract environmental
operations manager for the Western Bay of Plenty District
Council. In particular, she is responsible for the operation
and maintenance of solid waste facilities and waste
minimisation initiatives. She has significant practical
experience of waste management from a local government
perspective.

Morris LoveMorris Love is a
specialist in Maori resource management issues and has been
director of the Waitangi Tribunal and manager of the
Maruwhenua unit at the Ministry for the Environment. He has
broad tikanga Māori and governance board experience that
will be invaluable to the Waste Advisory Board.

John
PaskJohn Pask is an economist with Business New
Zealand - New Zealand’s largest business advocacy
organisation. In the past he has been the deputy policy
director of Federated Farmers of New Zealand and the policy
manager of New Zealand Employers’ Federation. He has
extensive knowledge and understanding of business systems
and processes.

Lesley StoneLesley Stone is the
environmental coordinator for the office of the Vice
Chancellor and property services at the University of
Auckland. She has lectured and undertaken research on
environmental management with a focus on waste recovery and
cleaner production.

Sheryl StivensSheryl
Stivens is currently the general manager of the WasteBusters
Trust Canterbury. She has been elected (three times) to the
Executive Board of Recycling Operators of New Zealand
(RONZ). She is well regarded in the community sector and has
excellent networking skills.

Nandor
TanczosNandor Tanczos has been a member of
parliament for the Green Party from 1999 to 2008. He was
responsible for introducing the Waste Minimisation Bill to
the House and seeing the Bill through to the second reading.
He has significant cross-sectoral knowledge and a thorough
understanding of the Act.

Functions of the Waste
Advisory BoardAs specified by section 88 of the Act,
the purpose of the Waste Advisory Board is to provide the
Minister for the Environment with advice about:a.
declaring priority productsb. making guidelines for
product stewardship schemesc. accrediting product
stewardship schemesd. regulations that prohibit the sale
of priority productse. regulations on products,
materials and wastef. specifying criteria for the
funding of waste minimisation projectsg. reviewing the
effectiveness of the waste disposal levyh. regulations
on the imposition of, and rate of, the waste disposal
levyi. regulations on records, information and
reports.

The Waste Minimisation Act also provides
for • the introduction of a $10 a tonne
(plus GST) levy on all waste disposed of in landfills from
July 1 2009• the introduction of a contestable fund
(using the revenue from the waste levy) to help local
government, communities and businesses minimise waste. In
addition, this will help reduce waste of all types going to
landfill by encouraging people to consider alternatives to
disposal • requirements for territorial authorities
and operators of landfills and recycling facilities to
report on waste • clarification of the role and
responsibilities of territorial authorities in waste
minimisation• Product stewardships schemes for
"priority products". Examples of product stewardship could
be businesses taking back unwanted products from their
customers for reuse or recycling or manufacturers choosing
environmentally friendly materials when making a
product.

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